MNA Sees Obscene Link Between Two Stories. Massachusetts Nurses Association/National Nurses United, February 2, 2012 One day after the hospital announces massive layoffs and the sell-off of key services, we now know one of  the real  reasons why they have made these decisions. We were appalled when the hospital’s bone marrow scam was first exposed in 2010, but we are even more disgusted to learn that they are now paying a half-million dollar judgment as a result of that activity, and at a time when they are slashing staff and services that provide care people in our community need. ... UMass

Boston Herald, January 31, 2012

Massachusetts hospitals were warned last week that they’re in for yet another cut in government reimbursement rates, on the same day a union representing some Bay State nurses was pushing for a bill that would drive health care costs even higher. Timing is everything.

This year the Massachusetts Nurses Association flew in a nurse from California - the only state where government bureaucrats, not hospital administrators, determine how many patients a nurse can care for at one time - to sing the praises of a mandatory minimum staffing bill to a legislative committee.

“I am here to tell you it has been a great success,” said DeAnn McEwen, a registered nurse in California.

Marc Larocque, Taunton Gazette, January 29, 2012

Taunton - There are 410 nurses, occupational therapists, recreational therapists, psychologists, mental health workers, housekeepers, campus police, groundskeepers and other kinds of workers at Taunton State Hospital who are expected to either relocate their families to central Massachusetts, make costly and time consuming commutes, or get a new job by the end of the year.

Daily Hampshire Gazette, January 27, 2012

Northampton - After 17 months of often contentious negotiations, Cooley Dickinson Hospital and the Massachusetts Nurses Association have reached a tentative agreement on a three-year contract covering 300 nurses.

The agreement, devised with help of a federal mediator, comes as the hospital is poised to decide in late February whether to merge with Baystate Medical Center in Springfield or Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

The new contract, hammered out early Tuesday addresses sticking points that had held up negotiations, including wages and "successor language" that requires a new owner to honor the contract with the MNA. It must still be ratified by the union's membership.

Stephanie Barry, Springfield Republican, January 26, 2012 Northampton - Cooley Dickinson Hospital has reached a tentative three-year contract settlement with its registered nurses at 2 AM on Tuesday, hospital and union officials announced Thursday. The initial agreement came after a 17-month stalemate over staffing ratios and a successor clause that will protect union members if the hospital is acquired by another health system later this year. Its potential partners are Baystate Health and Massachusetts General Hospital. ... Cooley

Colleen Quinn, State House News Service, January 25, 2012



Boston - Nurses from around the state, joined by a slew of legislators, urged passage of a nurse staffing law, saying they have battled too long for a bill they say would save patients’ lives.



Nurses say they are overworked, understaffed. Christine Lee, WWLP, January 25, 2012 Boston - Nurses and hospitals are battling over legislation on Beacon Hill. Nurses say that they are understaffed and overworked. They're supporting legislation that creates a procedure for set patient-to-nurse ratios, which would be established to preserve the health and safety of patients and nurses alike. But hospitals are fighting back, saying that providers shouldn't be restricted to "one-size-fits-all ratios or limits" on patient to nurse care. They are encouraging collaboration between hospitals, physicians and nurses to develop best practices that reward quality of care ... Fight

Frontline Caregivers Say State’s Mental Health System is Already in Shambles.
Shortage of Beds & Lack of Funding Jeopardize Patient Safety.
Proposed Closing Will Be Devastating for the State’s Most Vulnerable Residents. Massachusetts Nurses Association/National Nurses United, January 24, 2012 Taunton – The Massachusetts Department of Mental Health (DMH) informed members of the Massachusetts Nurses Association/National Nurses United (MNA/NNU) of their plan to close Taunton State Hospital, one of only six state operated mental health facilities in the state to care for people suffering from acute and chronic mental illness. ... State

Nurses and Patient Safety Advocates Will Testify in Support of the Measures that Will Save Thousands of Lives and Millions of Valuable Health Care Dollars. Massachusetts Nurses Association, January 23, 2012 The legislature’s Joint Committee on Health Care Finance will hold a public hearing on legislation that will improve the quality of patient care, save millions of health care dollars and prevent thousands of preventable infections and medical errors caused by poor RN staffing in the state’s acute care hospitals. The Patient Safety Act calls upon the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to set safe limits on the number of hospital patients a nurse is forced to care for at one time. ... Health

Massachusetts Nurses Association, January 19, 2012 The nurses of UMass Memorial Medical Center who  are represented by the MNA at the UMass University and UMass Memorial, Hahnemannn, Home Health and Hospice campuses cast an overwhelming vote tonight in favor of pursuing the formation of a single MNA local bargaining unit comprised of the 2,000 UMMMC  nurses.

Robert Weisman, Boston Globe, January 18, 2012 The nurses union that clashed with Tufts Medical Center and Steward Health Care System over the past eight months has ratified a 16-month contract for more than 3,000 registered nurses at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Under the agreement with the Harvard-affiliated Boston teaching hospital, members of the Massachusetts Nurses Association there will receive a 1 percent pay increase this year. In addition, nurses at the top of the pay scale will be given a lump sum 1 percent bonus, according to both parties. ... Nurses

Alex Spanko, Patriot Ledger, January 17, 2012 Canton - Donna Kelly-Williams won a second term as president of the Massachusetts Nurses Association in October, after overseeing a major change at the Canton-based union during her first two years in office. Two months after Kelly-Williams took the reins in October 2009, the association joined with two other nurses' unions to form National Nurses United, a Silver Spring, Maryland-based group that now represents 170,000 nurses across the country. The Arlington resident also helped advocate for a new state law, passed last year, that increased the penalties for patients who assault nurses. ... Canton

Jonathan Phelps, Lawrence Eagle-Tribune, January 6, 2012 Methuen - A labor union which represents nurses at the Holy Family Hospital has brought charges against the hospital's owner to the National Labor Relations Board claiming a nurse was wrongly fired in retaliation for her union organizing. In response to the Massachusetts Nurses Association/National Nurses United charges, the labor board has issued a formal complaint against Steward Health Care System, which calls for a hearing on the matter next month. The complaint also includes a second charge against Steward Health Care for preventing nurses from wearing buttons in support of the fired nurse, Mary Ramirez. She worked at Holy Family for 18 years.

Charles Winokoor, Taunton Daily Gazette, January 6, 2012 Taunton - The parent company of Taunton’s Morton Hospital will face a hearing next month before the National Labor Relations Board - on charges that it fired a nurse at another hospital last summer in retaliation for her having organized a union drive.

The NLRB has lodged a complaint alleging the Boston-based Steward Health Care Systems unlawfully fired 40-year nursing veteran Mary Ramirez - who had worked for 18 years at Holy Family Hospital in Methuen - after she led a successful drive to organize a union with the Massachusetts Nurses Association/National Nurses United (MNA/NNU). ... Steward

Hospital chain says she was dismissed was because of poor performance. Robert Weisman, Boston Globe, January 6, 2012 A complaint lodged by the National Labor Relations Board alleges that Steward Health Care System unlawfully fired a nurse at its Holy Family Hospital in Methuen in August for leading a union organizing drive, in a case that underscores the deterioration of once-warm relations between Steward and the Massachusetts Nurses Association. The complaint, issued December 29, also cited Steward for preventing other Holy Family nurses from wearing buttons during the summer in support ... Complaint